Redbridge Council is asking residents about hypothetical cuts to services as it looks to balance increasing financial pressures.
The authority has put out a call for residents to share their views on “what matters most” as it prepares for next February.
At the start of every financial year, councils pass an annual budget that lays out where they will spend and save money.
The council is currently projecting a £33million overspend for 2024/25, as it faces growing demand on its housing and children’s services.
By 2030, the town hall is predicting a budget deficit of £91m.
In a preamble to the consultation, the council said: “More than a decade of government austerity has significantly impacted Redbridge.
“The council has lost over 54p for every £1 of government grant funding, resulting in over £150m less to spend on local services every year.”
The consultation focuses mainly on cuts to services and “reductions in spending”.
Residents are asked whether they would be hypothetically comfortable cutting funding for 15 public services, including adult social care, education services, and road repairs.
They are also asked which area they would cut funding for, if they could only pick one, and if they would prefer large, concentrated cuts or smaller cuts spread across the council.
A council report published last month outlined plans to reduce the funding for children’s centre services by £238,000 in 2025/26.
Funding for supporting vulnerable families is also set to drop by £4.3m in 2025/26 and a further £2m the following year.
The consultation also floats the idea of the council “reducing” the number of buildings it owns, cutting its workforce, and moving more services online. However, it has not committed to any of these suggestions.
Residents are also asked which services they would like the council to prioritise and if they would support a council tax hike next April.
The questionnaire was launched just days before Labour’s first Autumn Budget in 14 years, which saw taxes rise by an historic £40billion.
Though it included £1.3bn extra funding for local authorities across the UK, many officials are worried it won’t offset their problems.
Redbridge leader Kam Rai said: “The £1.3bn announced for local government is welcome but less than the pressures accumulated after 14 years of austerity.
“I’ll be looking at the detail, but it must be distributed on a fairer funding basis and not the outdated and failed formulas used by the Tories.”
He added: “Local government is an emergency service for many, yet no other area has endured our level of cuts since 2010. We need fairer funding.”
National funding for councils has significantly reduced since 2010, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. In June, it reported that councils’ funding per person had fallen by a real-term average of 26% across the UK.
Following the Budget, Louise Gittins, chair of the Local Government Association, said “fundamental reform” was still needed.
She said: “This is a step in the right direction, but councils and the services they provide to their residents still face a precarious short- and long-term future.
“The government needs to give explicit clarity on whether councils will be protected from extra cost pressures from the increases to employer national insurance contributions.
Redbridge Council’s consultation will close on 1 December.
